Central and South America
The Fishes of Western South America, Part I
by Carl H. Eigenmann. 1922
Memoirs of the Carnegie Museum, Vol. IX(1): 1-346, 21 text figs., pls. 1-38.
The full title here is The Fishes of Western South America. Part I. The Fresh-Water Fishes of Northwestern South America. Including Columbia, Panama, and the Pacific Slopes of Ecuador and Peru, Together with an Appendix upon the Fishes of the Rio Meta in Columbia. The author conducted extensive surveys in the region (having a U.S. base of operation from the Panama Canal was helpful politically and logistically), and utilized collections made by others, Seth E. Meek, for example. He brought it all together in this classic volume. The expedition and region are described in detail in the introduction (including maps and photographs of habitats). The taxonomic section includes a listing of fishes collected - 387 in total. They are described, keyed with specimens listed. A number of new species are described. Appendix I includes an accounting of 60 species collected from the Rio Meta. Appendix II is an annotated bibliography of the region. The 38 plates are photographs and drawings of the fauna, and one large fold-out map. These Carnegie works were issued in cloth bound volumes with other papers, and as separates with pale blue wrappers. I have this paper in both forms. My separate is signed on the front cover by the author.Check list of the freshwater fishes of South and Central America (CLOFFSCA)
by Roberto E. Reis, Sven Kullander and Carl J. Ferraris, Jr. 2003
Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS, 2003. xi, 729 p. ; 30 cm. Hardcover (pictoral bords) in dust jacket
ISBN 85-7430-361-5
The essential foundation to just about all biology is taxonomy and systematics. One needs to know the parts of the system before the system can be understood. One needs to know the subject of one’s study, if meaningful comparisons are going to be made among past and future studies. Certainly, conservation actions are difficult to plan and assess if basic data on diversity are lacking or unreliable or incomplete. The North American ichthyofauna, for example, is quite well known and studied, and yet continues to yield surprises. Take a much larger and more incompletely studied fauna, such as the topic fo this volume, and the unknowns and potential surprises are greatly increased. The organizers of this work gathered family-by-family accounts of know species. Numerous authorities each contributed to their family or genus of expertise. Each family comes with a 2-3 paragraph introduction, species are organized by genera with the basics noted: name, authority, types; size; distribution; countries; remark; common name(s). Each family account has its own reference section. Some 6025 species are included. I’ve always found, one of the pleasures of taxonomic work is the exploratory phase of searching out the original descriptions and older revisions in often obscure or neglected publications. Compilations such as this Checklist relieve the researcher of some of that task - but biodiversity inventories are ever changing endeavors with much still to learn and discover – as evidenced by the1550 undescribed species estimated to exist by the collaborators of this volume. Middle America
Belize
Fishes of the Continental Waters of Belize
by David W. Greenfield and Jamie E. Thormerson. 1997
Gainesville: University Press of Florida, xxii + 311 pp., illus in black and white, maps. Cloth covered
boards, issued without dust jacket
ISBN 0-8130-1497-2
Over 125 species are covered in this book. Guides to tropical ichthyofaunas are not nearly as common as those for temperate regions, so this book is something species. The author introduces the region covered in the front matter. Identification keys are presented throughout. Species accounts include the basics of range, identification and biology. The information contain in them is referenced - something that many faunal guides do not do. Where information is available, some species accounts can be fairly long, other not. Several known undescribed species are detailed. In faunas such as this, one would expect undescribed species to be known, and to be encountered as surveys continue. Spot range maps are included in an appendix. The drawings, by the first author, are of the stippled dot variety, and are nice.
Costa Rica
Familias de peces marinos costarricenses y de aguas contiguas
by William A. Bussing. 1969
Universidad de Costa Rica, Departmento de Biologia, Serie Ciencias Naturales. 1969. No. 6, 39 p., illus. softbound
About 100 families of jawed fishes are keyed in this useful guide. Each family is illustrated with a line drawing. A glossary is included, along with drawings of diagnostic traits. Writing keys that actually work can be quite a challenge.
Peces de las aguas continentales de Costa Rica = Freshwater fishes of Costa Rica
by William A. Bussing. 1998
San José, Costa Rica: Editorial de la Universidad de Costa Rica, 1998. 468 p. : ill. (some col.), maps ; 26 cm. 2nd ed. Softbound
ISBN 9977-67-489-2
This thick volume is one of the relatively few regional or national fish guides for Middle America. It largely follows a standard presentation, typical of many U.S. state book. Front matter introduces the region, with discussions of local habitats, hydrology, biogeography and conservation; a primer on fish identification with keys to families follows (keys to species are found in following sections). The species accounts include a photograph (sometimes several, mostly of living fishes, mostly in black and white) of the species, occasionally a distribution map, and then the details one typically likes to find – description, ecology and biology and remarks. The text is offered in Spanish and then English. If you find yourself identifying fishes from Costa Rica or adjacent countries, this is going to be an essential reference. This is the 2nd edition – I don’t have at hand a copy of the first edition to make any comparisons. Nicaragua
Peces nicaragüenses de agua dulce
Jaime Villa. 1982
Managua, Nicaragua: Fondo de Promoción Cultural, Banco de América, 1982. xiv, 253 p., leaf of plates : ill., maps. Hardcover in dust jacket.
Here we have one of the few comprehensive guides to national faunas of Central America – the freshwater fishes of Nicaragua. Detailed front matter sets the stage for the taxonomic section – which contains identification keys and standard species accounts. Many species are illustrated with photographs or drawings pulled from various sources. There are not distribution maps. My copy is inscribed by the author to the late Ross Socolof, aquarium fish pioneer.
Panama
The fishes of the Rio Chucunaque Drainage, eastern Panama
by Charles M. Breder. 1927
Bulleting of the American Museum of Natural History 57(3): 91-176, illus. (text figures and photographic plates)
The Rio Chucunaque flows into the Pacfic near the Panama-Columbia border. Charles Breder undertook a survey of the then poorly known fauna in 1924. The area was not visited by the earlier Meek and Hildebrand Expedition, apparently because of worries about hostile natives. The expedition yielded a number of previously undescribed species (described in earlier papers by Breder). This monograph offers and overview and annotated checklist of the fauna. The fauna includes a number of marine or estuarine fishes, plus some typical Neotropical creatures such as Cyprinodontiforms and Cichlids. Illustrated with maps, tables, text figures and several photographic plates of habitat and fishes. I like these old habitat shots. I especially like photos that show the explorers and their equipment, activies or camps -- one shot included here shows their tents neatly lined up along a river bank. One wonders how much the scenery has changed in the ensuing 80 years. The fishes of the fresh waters of Panama
Seth Eugene Meek and Samuel F. Hildebrand. 1916.
Chicago, Field Museum of Natural History Publication 191, Zoological Series 1916 Vol. X (15): 217-374. illus., plates. 24 cm. Wrappers.
Meek and Hildebrand surveyed fishes in the Canal Zone (then a US possession) and Panama in 1911 and 1912 under the auspices of the Field Museum, the Smithsonian and the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries. This is their report. Five new genera and 13 new species are described and many more (nearly 100) species figured, keyed and discussed. Works like this are largely taxonomic in nature as information on the biology and ecology of the fishes is not always known. Meek fell ill during this trip, never really recovered and died while this report was in preparation. Illustrated with text figures and black and white photographic plates.South America
Brazil
Pescarias Fluvialis no Brasil. 2nd edition
by Amazonas De Aragão, drawings by Ernesto Klasing. 1947
Edicoes Melhoramentos, Sao Paulo. 158 pp., illus., Paper back
I don’t often buy angling books, but make exceptions for those from odd places, especially vintage pieces. This one is one the river fishing of Brazil. It’s not dated (that I can find), but poking around the internet, I found 1947 as a probable date. My copy is listed as second edition. All that aside, we have a book that details a number of fishes that might interest an angler (in no particular order as near as I can tell), with information on their biology, again with an eye towards the angler. A sea cow and turtle are also included for good measure. There are pen-and-ink drawings of fishes, and whimsical fishing scenes. My copy has a sticker on the cover from a sporting goods store in Sao Paulo (Ao Gaucho - Artigos des Cutelaria, Armas e Pesca) - a niche touch. Guia Ilustrado de Peixes da Bacia do Rio Grande
by Belo Horizonte. 2000
Compahnia Eneergetica de Minas Gerais - CEMIG / Fundacao Centro Tecnologico de Minas Gerais - CETEC. 2000. 144 pp., illus.Peixes do Rio Negro - Fishes of the Rio Negro
by Alfred Russel Wallace and Monica de Toledo-Piza Ragazzo. 2002
São Paulo, SP, Brasil: Edusp: 2002. 517 p. : ill., maps ; 27 cm. Hardcover in dust jacket.
ISBN 85-314-0633-1
Alfred Russell Wallace traveled to the Amazon basin of Brazil to explore in the early 1850s. Nearly all of his data, notebooks and specimens were destroyed by a ship fire before he left. Among the few things he salvaged were some 200 drawings of fishes he encountered in Amazonia. Long held by the Natural History Museum (London), these pencil drawings are published in the volume for the first time. Offered along with them is historical context and ichthyology context from Dr. Toledo-Piza Ragazzo. Each drawing is presented with the facing page containing commentary (in Portuguese and English). Several of my favorite subjects are combined here – ichthyology, history, exploration. The book, published in Brazil, was sent to me by a friend who is a Neotropical fish specialist. For that I’m grateful. The volume was carefully crafted with quality materials — it’s in part an art book, after all. Columbia
Los peces del norte de Colombia
by Georg Dahl. 1971
Bogetá, Instututo de Desarrollo de los Recursos Naturales Renovables, 1971. xvii + 391 p. illus. 25 cm. softcoverThis is basically an illustrated key to the fishes of the region covered, defined as that drained by rivers flowing into the Carribean. Both freshwater and marine fishes are included – 453 in total. Most are illustrated with good quality drawings that appear derived from a variety of sources. The front matter includes accounts of the exploration history and zoogeography of the region. I’ve never had occasion to key fishes from Columbia – but you never know.
On further collections of fishes from Paraguay
by Carl H. Eigenmann, Waldo Lee McAtee and David Perkins Ward. 1907
Annals of the Carnegie Museum Vol. 4(11): 110-155, illus. Wrappers.
Here is Dr. Eigenmann’s account of a series of collections sent to Indiana University by a certain Professor Anisits. One hundred and one species are listed. Many are described or discussed. A number are described as new. Illustrations are in the form of black and white photographic plates of museum specimens. The report closes with a checklist of 254 know from the Basin of the Paraguay. The paper and bindings of these early Carnegie reports have not aged well. The wrappers are printed in speckled blue paper (somewhat heavier than the text block) that has become quite brittle and easily chipped. The paper of the text block has aged better, but is likewise generally rather brittle. After handling one of these Carnegie reports I often find small bits of blue paper on the floor.Peru
The Fishes of the West Coast of Peru and the Titticaca Basin
By Barton Warren Evermann and Lewis Radcliffe
Bulletin of the United States National Museum (Smithsonian) No. 95, xi +166 pp., 14 plates (black and white drawings, 3 fishes per plate). 1917. Hardcover, green cloth, 23.5 x 15 cm.
This report is typical of any number of papers produced by the D.S. Jordan school of ichthyology in the early 20th Century. It consists of a orderly accounting of a fish collection brought to the attention of the authors. Species accounts include descriptive information and taxonomic synonymies, plus identification keys. Other data, if available, are included.
This collection of fishes was made by Dr. Robert E. Coker, some 500 species, identified as 120 species, 12 of which are described as new to science.
My copy appears to be Evermann’s personal copy. His name (in his hand) appears on the front endleaf, with the note “San Francisco Sept. 13, 1917. On the front pastdown is a bookplate identifying this copy being part of the Evermann bequest to the California Academy of Sciences, October 13, 1932. An overstamp on the bookplate idenfies this copy as later “withdrawn” from the library.
